Spanish

Intent
At Warley Primary School, we aim to give all pupils access to high-quality Spanish teaching in order to broaden their horizons and develop a love for another language. We have chosen Spanish because not only is it the second most spoken language in the world, but it is the language studied by the main feeder secondary school and so is pertinent to the majority of our pupils' futures. We want to equip our children with the best languages foundation before, hopefully, moving on with an inspired love for the subject.

We begin teaching in the EYFS because we want to expose children to another language as early as possible, knowing that children acquire language more rapidly the younger they are. When they leave Warley at the end of Year 6, we want them to be able to speak, read and write with increasing confidence and accuracy of pronunciation and intonation.

Spanish is taught by the children’s usual classroom teachers which embraces our school’s ethos of us all learning together.

It is imperative for us to foster children’s curiosity and deepen their understanding of other cultures and the world in which they will grow up. This is more important than ever with increasingly diverse and changing society in which we live. 

 
Implementation
Children are introduced to Spanish from the EYFS and receive a weekly 30-minute lesson. Throughout Key Stage 1 and 2, children have a bi-weekly hour-long lesson. Teaching in Reception focuses on speaking and listening skills and as the children progress into Key Stage 1, elements of reading and writing are introduced. 

We use the iLanguages Scheme of Work for Key Stage 2 and in-house schemes, influenced by the Hackney BCC scheme, for EYFS and Key Stage 1. These engaging lessons are well-resourced and enable teachers to confidently deliver the lessons in order to fulfil the curriculum requirements. The lessons build progressively on prior learning and children who show a natural aptitude for languages can be extended appropriately. 

Aside from the discrete Spanish lessons, children's language skills are embedded in other ways, such as:

• greeting each other and answering the register in Spanish;
• listening attentively to spoken language and responding; joining in with songs, rhymes and games;
• Completing cross-curricular activities such as those in Computing and Art;
• Attending extra-curricular Spanish Clubs after school;
• Immersing the children in Spanish culture and strengthening the cross-curricular links through bi-annual Spanish Curriculum Days.

Click here to see our Spanish Curriculum Overview: Whole School Spanish Overview

Please find the Spanish Knowledge and Skills Progression Overview here: Spanish Knowledge and Skills Progression

Impact
Our languages curriculum ensures that children develop their knowledge of where different languages are spoken in the world, including the range of home languages spoken by the families of the school, as well as Spanish.

Varied learning experiences, including Spanish Day and festival-focused lessons, also ensure that languages are celebrated throughout the school community whilst providing a context for language learning and develop the children’s understanding of different cultures.
Children are happy, feel cared for, and have excellent relationships with others. They know how to deal with challenges and have a range of strategies to overcome them.

Spanish teaching is stronger than it has ever been. Every member of the school community is able to greet each other in Spanish now that the children in EYFS and KS1 also learn Spanish.

Through the use of iLanguages, teachers feel more confident in the teaching of Spanish. This has in turn led to better outcomes for children, shown in annual teacher assessments for Key Stage 2.

The attainment and progress seen in children’s books is good or better. The quality of writing , including application of grammatical structures, is impressive and two local secondary schools have commented upon the excellent standard of language acquisition our pupils have upon entering their settings.

Through wider reading and experiences in Spanish, children will gain an appreciation and understanding of the country and its culture and some of its historical links to other parts of the world and historical events. Cultural Capital opportunities have enriched the lives of the children and they are developing their ability to discuss how the experience impacted their knowledge and understanding. Children talk enthusiastically about their learning in Spanish and are eager to further this in the next stages of their education. 

Clear outcomes focus and guide Spanish development plans and drive improvement year upon year. 

Cultural Capital

Children will:

• Learn about key figures from Spanish history such as Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Antonio Gaudi and St. Theresa of Avi
• Meet and talk to native speakers
• Read Spanish publications (such as newspapers) and books
• Listen to Spanish radio
• Listen to Spanish music
• Watch Spanish television programmes and/or films
• Eat Spanish food